Wildly optimistic mission to Mars plan earns skepticism

Sending two people to Mars in less than five years is possible. Technically.

A newly announced and privately organized mission to Mars, dubbed "Inspiration Mars: A Mission For America," intends to give one man-and-woman married couple a round-trip ticket around the red planet less than five years from now, as disclosed in a press conference Wednesday. Though the project shares its space travel goals with no less than President Barack Obama, its details and time frame are getting the side-eye from scientists and researchers for its unbridled optimism.

Inspiration Mars is the brainchild of Dennis Tito, an entrepreneur who paid $20 million in 2001 to the Russian space program to become the first space tourist. The Mars trip he envisions would be 501 days in total, and would fly the two people on board the ship to, around, within 100 miles of, and back from Mars, but would never actually land on the planet.

Forbes points out that the mission has a myriad of hurdles ahead of it. Funding appears to be muddy, and the project is currently without support from NASA or any of the major commercial space exploration companies like SpaceX (though Tito has an agreement to develop tech with NASA). The spacecraft for the mission has yet to be designed and is a collaboration with Paragon Space Development using current space technology.

There is also the minor issue of finding a pair of payload human beings who not only mind eating nothing but dehydrated food for almost a year and a half, but will be able to bear the psychological burdens of virtual isolation for the same period of time, such that neither kills the other or themselves. Forbes' sources estimate that the trip will cost $1 billion, give or take a few million. For its part, NASA isn't planning to send carbon-based life forms out to Mars until the decade after next.

Tito hopes to set the craft on its course to Mars on January 5, 2018. If all of those elements can come together in that time, well then, the plan is foolproof.

I think one of the biggest unknowns would be the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body. If I recall correctly, 501 days would set the record for longest human spaceflight. At 1 to 2 percent loss of bone mass per month, it could really take a toll on the body when they return to Earth.

They should convince the LGBT community should start work on a competing mission. I'm sure there are plenty of conservatives out there who would invest their fortunes to ensure a married man and woman were the first space tourists to Mars.

There is also the minor issue of finding a pair of payload human beings who not only mind eating nothing but dehydrated food for almost a year and a half, but will be able to bear the psychological burdens of virtual isolation for the same period of time, such that neither kills the other or themselves

I don't think finding volunteers would be a huge problem. Sure, I suppose there's a risk that they might end up trying to kill each other, but there's a decent chance that at least one of them would survive!

There is also the minor issue of finding a pair of payload human beings who not only mind eating nothing but dehydrated food for almost a year and a half, but will be able to bear the psychological burdens of virtual isolation for the same period of time, such that neither kills the other or themselves

You won't have any problem finding volunteers. More than 6,000 people volunteered for the MARS-500 experiment where they were to subjected to the same treatment (minus the weightlessness and risk of death), but without the benefit of being the first humans to see fricking Mars up close with your own eyes!

There is also the minor issue of finding a pair of payload human beings who not only mind eating nothing but dehydrated food for almost a year and a half, but will be able to bear the psychological burdens of virtual isolation for the same period of time, such that neither kills the other or themselves.

Simple: find a married couple where both husband and wife have autistic traits at the far end of the Asperger's segment of the Spectrum, and they'll be happy as clams on the ride. There are people who are perfectly suited to social isolation; find the modern day Archimedes types that don't like their circles disturbed and it's a cinch.

There is also the minor issue of finding a pair of payload human beings who not only mind eating nothing but dehydrated food for almost a year and a half, but will be able to bear the psychological burdens of virtual isolation for the same period of time, such that neither kills the other or themselves

You won't have any problem finding volunteers. More than 6,000 people volunteered for the MARS-500 experiment where they were to subjected to the same treatment (minus the weightlessness and risk of death), but without the benefit of being the first humans to see fricking Mars up close with your own eyes!

Have them sent down to a research station in Antarctica for a few months, and we'll see how serious they are.

It could take five years just to a find a married couple that wouldn't murder each other during the trip. Longer if you want them to come back married.

As long as the wife is properly submissive to the husband there won't be a problem, so send some Saudi Arabians.

Glad you used a perfectly serviceable joke about marriage to cough up some prejudiced wharrrrgarbl. Well done.

Yes I am prejudiced for Saudi Arabians. Have you got a problem with that?Are you anti-Arab?

Oh sorry. If you think there is a there is a rigidly defined, appropriate amount of deference that women must show their husbands, I have a completely different problem with you as a person.

I'm not anti-Arab so much as I'm against patriarchal, misogynist bullshit and for gender equality.

So you are a cultural imperialist then, determined to impose your values on different civilizations.You should change your handle to Cortés

Insofar as Cortés sat around talking about how the Aztecs were wrong but never did (or wanted to do) anything about it, yeah, I'm exactly like Cortés. I have a fancy hat with the feather and everything.

I didn't realize that I wasn't allowed to acknowledge moral relativism but still think treating women like second class citizens was wrong. Thanks for clearing that up.

I think one of the biggest unknowns would be the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body. If I recall correctly, 501 days would set the record for longest human spaceflight. At 1 to 2 percent loss of bone mass per month, it could really take a toll on the body when they return to Earth.

Centrifugal gravity, a la the spinning-wheel spacecraft from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Shielding the passengers from cosmic radiation is a far bigger concern, I think.

The biggest unsolved problem for humans on long-duration interplanetary travel—even bigger than muscle and bone degeneration—is cosmic radiation. Astronauts on ISS are still mostly protected by Earth's magnetic field, but even so, they get 20 times the dose that surface-dwellers get each day, and they don't stay up for anywhere near 501 days. Doses in interplanetary space are much higher. (see the chart at the top of http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/weekly/3Page28.pdf )

Anyone considering this mission needs to weigh the benefits of joining the 35M+ mile-high-club against a substantially increased cancer risk.

The Forbes article I read on this says that the press conference was hosted by Miles O'Brien.

The future is now, folks.

Last time I remember seeing his name, I think he was CNN's space reporter. This was also during the time that DS9 was still on the air. I wonder if that helped him get the job. "Look, unless you're interviewing another guy by the name of Montgomery Scott, I'm your man."

The on board water supply can be used as a cosmic ray shield since 7.2 inches of water will cut exposure in half. Presumably, they would need to recycle water and urine to have enough for the duration, so even with some water losses (in the "solids"), you should be able to configure a replenishable space for two that they could at least sleep in. Other spacecraft materials can impede the particle flow, but nothing is 100% since you could not afford to haul the mass needed.

Gravity is the the big issue for 501 days. Something has to spin part of the spacecraft or the flight needs to be a lot shorter. Let's get VASIMR off the ground and the trip could be done in less than 100 days.

I thought I heard something a few months back about a company trying to set up a one-way Mars mission within the next ten years or so, with the goal being the original craft will land and become the cornerstone of a Mars base that other crews will eventually join, all of them remaining on Mars indefinitely. I wonder what became of that...

I do like the idea of this though. NASA has been dragging their feet for decades (not that being subject to the whim of changing political climates has helped, nor has the constant battle for funding and shrinking budgets).

Space exploration is cool, and it needs to be done if for no other reason than to satisfy our curiosity.

It could take five years just to a find a married couple that wouldn't murder each other during the trip. Longer if you want them to come back married.

As long as the wife is properly submissive to the husband there won't be a problem, so send some Saudi Arabians.

Fellow Arsians, since "ws3" is clearly angling for it, let us all send the troll on a 500+ day trip to oblivion by clicking the crossed eyeball icon (to add to your ignore list) next to your choice of the most offensive, least intelligent or misogynous post authored by "ws3."

I think one of the biggest unknowns would be the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body. If I recall correctly, 501 days would set the record for longest human spaceflight. At 1 to 2 percent loss of bone mass per month, it could really take a toll on the body when they return to Earth.

Centrifugal gravity, a la the spinning-wheel spacecraft from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Shielding the passengers from cosmic radiation is a far bigger concern, I think.

Concepts (especially from movies) have a tendency to take a lot longer (and be much harder to implement) once you take them off the drafting table. NASA's estimate may very well be conservative.

I think one of the biggest unknowns would be the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body. If I recall correctly, 501 days would set the record for longest human spaceflight. At 1 to 2 percent loss of bone mass per month, it could really take a toll on the body when they return to Earth.

Centrifugal gravity, a la the spinning-wheel spacecraft from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Shielding the passengers from cosmic radiation is a far bigger concern, I think.

Concepts (especially from movies) have a tendency to take a lot longer (and be much harder to implement) once you take them off the drafting table. NASA's estimate may very well be conservative.

Want to make a guess as to how much the Discovery would have cost to build on orbit in 2001? ...eew

I think one of the biggest unknowns would be the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body. If I recall correctly, 501 days would set the record for longest human spaceflight. At 1 to 2 percent loss of bone mass per month, it could really take a toll on the body when they return to Earth.

Centrifugal gravity, a la the spinning-wheel spacecraft from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Shielding the passengers from cosmic radiation is a far bigger concern, I think.

Concepts (especially from movies) have a tendency to take a lot longer (and be much harder to implement) once you take them off the drafting table. NASA's estimate may very well be conservative.

It's technically feasible, and hardly a concept out of left field. The cost would be stratospheric, but not out of the realm of possibility.

I think one of the biggest unknowns would be the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body. If I recall correctly, 501 days would set the record for longest human spaceflight. At 1 to 2 percent loss of bone mass per month, it could really take a toll on the body when they return to Earth.

Centrifugal gravity, a la the spinning-wheel spacecraft from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Shielding the passengers from cosmic radiation is a far bigger concern, I think.

Concepts (especially from movies) have a tendency to take a lot longer (and be much harder to implement) once you take them off the drafting table. NASA's estimate may very well be conservative.

Want to make a guess as to how much the Discovery would have cost to build on orbit in 2001? ...eew

It would be fascinating just to see all the problems they would run into trying to recreate it even now.

I did have an interesting thought based on this article: How much differently do we, as a society, evaluate the risk here? Look at what the public response to the space shuttle disasters was: absolute condemnation of NASA, but would a civilian tragedy be treated similarly? What about a disaster that only involved the owner/operator of a space company? In essence, we're talking about volunteers in all three cases, who either were, or should be, well aware of the risk, yet, i suspect our reaction would be much different in each case. I suspect this is partly to do with our feeling that it's "our" space program; even though we aren't involved, we feel responsible.

Perhaps, the reason why commercial enterprise appears to be the future of space flight isn't congressional pork shenanigans, or dwindling NASA budgets, but because we as a society won't internalize the failures as much.

I think one of the biggest unknowns would be the effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body. If I recall correctly, 501 days would set the record for longest human spaceflight. At 1 to 2 percent loss of bone mass per month, it could really take a toll on the body when they return to Earth.

Centrifugal gravity, a la the spinning-wheel spacecraft from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Shielding the passengers from cosmic radiation is a far bigger concern, I think.

Concepts (especially from movies) have a tendency to take a lot longer (and be much harder to implement) once you take them off the drafting table. NASA's estimate may very well be conservative.

It's technically feasible, and hardly a concept out of left field. The cost would be stratospheric, but not out of the realm of possibility.